Fire! Santa Rosa, Fire!, DeepSea Arcade, Kimbra @TheNewtown Workers Club,Melbourne (11/06/2010)

Wed 16th Jun, 2010 in Gig Reviews

Kimbra open the night and unusually, both for an unknown support act and the Workers Club, the room is filled with patrons from the outset. Kimbra’s vocals remind of Amy Winehouse in their husky, soulful quality and Camille in her unusual throws and tones. Two Way Street is as apt an example of her vocal stylings as any song, together with the support of trip-hop style backing from a band that includes drums, guitar, and keys and sampling. Within this formula, there is not a great deal of variation, however her music is nothing if not pleasant.

Sydney band, Deep Sea Arcade present another retro pastiche, this time pulling from the cannon of 60’s era Brit Pop. Opening with Don’t Be Sorry , the core attraction comes from the throbbing basslines, which contrast the singer’s semi falsetto vocals, reminiscent of Luke Steele’s. Meanwhile the singer apes Liam Gallagher with his stance, microphone raised above his head and angled down. The only real concern with the band is that it is difficult to ever hear more than one guitar. Whether this is a result of the arrangements or the sound-tech, I couldn’t say. Yet, as the music doesn’t seem to suffer as a result, I’m left questioning the relevance of the second guitarist.

The biggest highlights come in the darker pop of Circles and Outlands, whilst the occasional, less polished tune slips through the audiences apathetic stance. The band close with their most recent single, Lonely In Your Arms , presenting a more upbeat vision before courteously applauding both Kimbra and Fire! Santo Rosa, Fire! for their efforts.

Approaching Adelaide band Fire! Santa Rosa, Fire!, I was fairly wary, as I tend to be with any band that has garnered such early hype. Put this together with a band name that has an abundance of punctuation and I’m expecting a pretentious, self-righteous indie outfit. So it is some relief that, when they actually start playing, there is a certain amount of legitimate talent there.

Singer Caitlin Duff has the breathy quality of Juanita from the Howling Bells, while David Williams backing vocals provide a stable offside. The high pitched whine of real guitars is also refreshing, compared to the over laboured synths I was expecting. In fact, numbers like War Coward carry a real rock vibe to them.

Occasionally the sheer scale of the six-piece seems to overwhelm the sound guy and the music became washed out and monotonous. When he gets it right though, they set the room alight. We are informed early on that it is the drummer’s birthday and for some reason, he decides to attempt relating each and every song to an anecdote about Jurassic Park. The band seem confident overall without being self assured and they shine on tracks like Test Crowd, Animal Spirit Guide and Little Cowboys, Bad Hombres.

By the end of the night, I may not be convinced to go out and buy the band’s debut album but I’ll certainly keep an ear turned in their direction as they will no doubt continue to swiftly improve in the future.

CHECK OUT PHOTOS FROM THE GIG HERE